id:			124128
accession number:	1945.124
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1945.124
updated:		2022-10-28 21:57:58.189000

Ballgame Stone Head (Hacha), AD 450–550. Mesoamerica, Classic Veracruz style. Gray volcanic stone; overall: 21.1 x 15.3 x 16.2 cm (8 5/16 x 6 x 6 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel D. Wise 1945.124

title:				Ballgame Stone Head (Hacha)
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			AD 450–550
creation date earliest:		450
creation date latest:		550
current location:		010 Focus Gallery
creditline:			Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel D. Wise
copyright:			

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culture:	Mesoamerica, Classic Veracruz style
technique:	gray volcanic stone
department:	Art of the Americas
collection:	AA - Mesoamerica
type:		Sculpture
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 21.1 x 15.3 x 16.2 cm (8 5/16 x 6 x 6 3/8 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Art of the Americas
	opening date:   1945-11-09T05:00:00
	<i>Art of the Americas</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 9, 1945-January 6, 1946).

	title:		Before Cortes: Sculpture of Middle America
	opening date:   1970-09-30T04:00:00
	<i>Before Cortes: Sculpture of Middle America</i>. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (September 30, 1970-January 3, 1971).

	title:		Julie Mehretu: Portals (FRONT International: Oh, Gods of Dust and Rainbows)
	opening date:   2022-07-16T04:00:00
	<i>Julie Mehretu: Portals (FRONT International: Oh, Gods of Dust and Rainbows)</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 16-November 13, 2022).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art; November 9, 1945- January 6, 1946.  "Art of the Americas." repr. in catalogue, black and white, p. 19.<br><br>Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art; January 18- February 25, 1962. "The Imagination of Primitive Man." cat. no. 240, p. 148.<br><br>New York, NY: The Metropolitan Museum of Art; September 30, 1970 - January 3, 1971.  "Before Cortes. Sculpture of Middle America." repr. in catalogue, in black and white, p. 178, no.147.

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PROVENANCE

	Dehesa
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Dehesa; (John Wise, Ltd.)
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact: 
This head’s identity is unknown but the deep furrows on the face suggest age.

digital description: 


wall description: 
Little can be said about this head’s identity and meaning, although the deep, dramatic furrows that line the face suggest age and the crest that curves across the top of the head has been compared to that of a bird. Such heads were one element of the regalia used in an ancient ballgame associated with complex mythology and equally elaborate art production on Mexico’s Gulf Coast, in present-day Veracruz.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook.</em> Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
	page number: 	Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 355
	url:		https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1958/page/n68

	William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, and Ralph T. Coe. <em>The Imagination of Primitive Man: A Survey of the Arts of the Non-Literate Peoples of the World</em>. Kansas City, Mo: The Museum, 1962.
	page number: 	Mentioned: p. 148, cat. no. 240
	url:		

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1945.124/1945.124_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1945.124/1945.124_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1945.124/1945.124_full.tif